The Beginning
by essenceofrain
Summary: Summoned by Raven, the Titans meet and start to form their team. However, this is harder then it seems, and soon the Titans have to juggle their "real life" and their "superhero life". AH BBxRae StarxRob KFxJinxXCyXBee
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

**Author's Note**: God, it has been such a long time since I've written anything for fanfiction. Almost five years, or four, I'm not sure which one of the two. I must say, it's good to be back, and to be writing again. I missed it a lot.

This story I started all those years ago, actually, and posted it up under my old username, and under a different title. I never got past to the third chapter because of my laziness, and I don't know how far this story will go, considering all the work I have this year :/ But I promise to do my best and upload as much as possible.

To get back to the original thread, this story is an old one that I posted on Fanfiction when I was younger, so I'm not plagiarizing it in _any_ way (just in the doubtful case that anyone read my other story). I'm just re-vamping it for the public. I hope you enjoy it.

P.S. I know that this story doesn't follow the lines of Go! at all, and I hope you'll accept my twists as they go along. I need some artistic freedom, don't I? Criticism is welcomed, but not flames. They're just rude.

-essenceofrain out-

Aliens Exist

"_Dark and scary, ordinary"_

Richard Grayson did not believe in aliens.

True, it was hard not to believe in them these days, with the emergence of "superheroes" and "supervillans" more and more frequent in the last century. It seemed that every new child was born with some sort of ability, and by now, people had gotten used to it. The scientists thought it had to do with evolution, but Richard was no scientist, and, frankly, he didn't care.

But he did care about aliens. Aliens scared him. They were unknown, and unpredictable. No one knew what they were capable of, no one even knew if they could feel, or understand, pain. So Richard turned a blind eye to the subject of aliens, trying as hard as he could not to believe in them, when he knew, deep down, he was bound to have an encounter with one someday.

Richard really, really hoped today wasn't that day.

"I don't like this," muttered Richard, surveying the thing that had just landed in front of his car. Normally, something that came down from the sky and was that size would blow up everything in the vicinity, including Richard, but all it had done was cause a smoldering crater in the middle of the road. Richard had swerved to avoid it and then had stopped next to it. He was now sitting in his car, trying to figure out whether or not to go over to it. It was just his luck that this wasn't a very used street, and that there was no ready supply of curious idiots to go and check things out for him.

Just when Richard had decided he would ignore it, a figure rose from the ashes. It was very tall, and, from what Richard could make out, a woman. Richard sighed. He couldn't ignore it now. Once people were involved, Richard couldn't help feeling his American moral obligation slip in.

Richard got out of his car and walked over to he figure apprehensively. He had received too many nasty surprises in his lifetime to approach anything, especially something unknown, without a certain level of apprehension.

"Hello," he said cautiously, making sure his dagger was easy to reach. It was an old habit, left over from what Richard called "the Glory Days", but it made him feel secure, and it had saved his life many times before.

The figure walked forward, into the lights coming from Richard's car.

Richard never got past looking at its face.

It was definitely a woman. A beautiful woman. Richard was not someone who was easily charmed when it came to women, but this one was unlike anything he had ever seen before. She had green eyes greener than anything Richard had ever seen, including that emerald he had once spied on his mother's ring before she died, and lips and hair redder then the dress Richard's first girlfriend had worn to prom. Richard stared at her face, mesmerized. In a gesture that was completely uncharacteristic, and that Richard would look back on and cringe, the dagger that had been in his hand fell to the floor.

The woman opened her mouth, and a strange sound came out. Richard couldn't relate it to any sound he had ever heard before, but he did know it was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. It hurt Richard to hear it, and a fleeting thought passed through his head (_is she an angel?_) before he got control of himself. He looked up again, ready to ask questions, when the woman reached out her hand. Richard did not move, did not cringe. He just stood there as the softness of her hand caressed his face, and as she leaned in and kissed him.

"I would require clothing, no?" said the woman, her voice still ringing with that strange melody Richard had first heard. It took a moment for Richard to register what she had said.

When he did, he realized that the woman was completely naked.

Blushing furiously and covering his eyes, he motioned to the car.

"Why don't you come with me?" he asked, still covering his eyes.

-

"So, to what I have the pleasure?" asked Richard. He and the strange woman were sitting across from each other at Richard's house, the woman wearing Richard's clothes (an oversized T-shirt that fit the woman, and pants that were a bit small on her). The woman seemed to have no modesty, having changed in front of Richard and not even trying to hide her fantastic figure. Despite his attempts not to, Richard had still noticed that the woman had full, round breasts and a figure most women (and a couple of men) would die for.

"I do not understand," said the woman, her face changing with deep confusion, so sincere it made her comical. Richard wanted to laugh just looking at her, but held himself back, so as to not offense her.

"Why are you here?" asked Richard somewhat slowly. The woman's expression cleared.

"My name is Koriand'r," said the woman. Richard blanched. That was word completely unpronounceable. Koriand'r, seeing the gaze, continued, "But you may call me Kori." Richard drew an involuntary sigh of relief. "I have come for a very important matter. I was… contacted by someone back on my home planet, someone by the name of Raven. Do you know her?"

When Richard shook his head, Kori continued, "She came in my dream many nights in a row, and she has given me these instructions: Find the one named Richard Grayson. Tell him he is to be the leader of a team called the Titans. You must then, with Richard, find the one that goes by Victor Stone. He is part of the team. Then, you must find me. I will bring the three of you to the final member of the Titans. Our team, the Titans, will rid Jump City of all its criminals, and help keep the world a safer place," recited Kori. Richard sat still for a moment, and then started to laugh.

"On my planet, we do not laugh at such prophecies," said Kori, seeming a bit miffed by Richard's reaction.

"I'm sorry, but, it's just, you're crazy," said Richard, still trying to control a guffaw. "You're absolutely crazy if you think I will join you because of a _dream_. Wait, let me rephrase that- that I would join a team _period_."

"She told me you would have the dreams too," said Kori.

Richard stopped laughing. There was a long silence.

Richard sighed, putting his hands in his head. "So maybe I did have a dream. But it was only once, and it was a long time, and it proves _nothing_!" Richard stood up. "I think you have the wrong place. It's been nice meeting you Kori, but you've disturbed my life enough."

"You cannot ignore this! Raven also told me of your past," said Kori, resisting to Richard's hold on her upper arm considerably well. Richard didn't know how a small thing like her could resist him pulling her up to get out, but she wasn't even budging.

"Get out! My past has nothing to do with you, it has nothing to do with _anyone_!" he yelled, losing his temper. He tugged Kori even harder, and yet still she stayed in the same place.

Kori looked up at Richard in surprise. "You are ashamed of it," she said calmly.

Richard stopped trying to pull her off his couch and looked at Kori in the face. "Yes, I am ashamed. I'm ashamed that I stopped helping people. But how could I keep helping them when I was inferior? I didn't have any of those fancy magic powers that people have nowadays. I was just a hindrance instead of a help." Richard could still hear the laugh from that man on that one fateful day- _You? A hero? You can't even lift twice your own weight!_

"And so?" asked Kori.

"What do you mean, _and so_?"

Kori stood up and grabbed Richard's arm. She spoke near him, and very hurriedly. "So, you have no powers. So you are not extraordinary. You _made_ yourself extraordinary back then, and that was enough to help people. Then one day, you just stop, because you realize that things are harder for you then they are for others?" Kori shook her head. "I thought you were stronger then that. The Richard- the _Robin_- Raven told me about in my dreams was a valiant warrior. _That_ Robin would have jumped at the opportunity to help someone. Now you're a coward." Kori started to head out. "I'll find Raven on my own. We don't need people like you on our team."

Richard watched Kori walk down the entire hallway before yelling, "Wait!"

Kori turned around.

Richard took a breath to give him time to reconsider. When he opened his mouth, he wondered why he had hesitated in the first place.

"I'll join your team. Just tell me what to do."

**Author's Note**: I really hope you liked it. It's definitely different than most stories, but I sincerely hope that's more of a good thing than a bad one.

As you may have noticed, the title of this chapter is a song by Blink 182. The quote in italics is from the song. This will be the case for every chapter, and I'll always specify who sung the song that names the chapter. So, this chapter, it was Aliens Exist, by Blink 182. Not my favorite by them, but still a good song. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my first post!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

Man! I Feel like a Woman

"_Really go wild-yeah, doing it in style"_

"So, what's our first order of business? Do we have to find that William guy?" asked Richard. He and Kori were back in his living room, and Richard had made himself an Irish coffee when Kori wasn't looking. He wasn't sure if the tall alien knew what alcohol was, but he didn't want to risk her having a bad impression of him, _again_. It wasn't like Richard normally drank in the middle of the day. Only when strange aliens appeared in front of him and spoke of things he had forgotten for over ten years.

"You mean Victor. Victor Stone. I'm sorry, but not yet. First, Raven told me that you had to teach me about human life," said Kori.

"But you already know about human life, don't you?"

"I might look human, but I am an alien, and many, many things here are very strange to me. For example, this habit of wearing clothes constantly," Kori tugged on the shirt she was wearing. "I find it extremely uncomfortable, and on Tamaran, where I am from, we do not wear anything when we do not want to. It's strange to me that you always do."

That would explain her lack of modesty before.

"I see what you mean. I guess I'll have to teach you about human life, huh?" asked Richard, half joking. He could already see all the flaws in this plan. Where was Kori supposed to stay? With him? If so, what clothes should she wear? What did she eat? Did she sleep? He couldn't even take care of a human woman, how was he supposed to deal with an alien one?

I guess he should start with the clothes. "Humans always wear clothes because… well, I guess cause we're modest. We only show ourselves naked to people we are in deep romantic love with."

"I see. Then I am sorry if I shocked you earlier. I did not know," said Kori, blushing slightly.

"No, no it's fine, you didn't shock me. But we have to buy you some clothes. And unfortunately, I don't really know how to shop for a woman," Richard thought about it. Who could he ask?

"Men and women wear different clothes here?" asked Kori, clueless as usual.

"Yes. Alright, you know what? I'll just ask my neighbor to help us out. I don't know her very well, but she's nice enough, and I'm sure she'll accept."

"I will willingly follow you," said Kori, and out the door they went.

-

"Jinx! Jinx! I need your help!" Richard pounded on the door of his neighbor.

No answer.

"Jinx! Jinx! Please help!" Richard knocked even louder. Normally he wouldn't try so hard, but he had no idea _what_ to do with Kori, and he wanted some female help.

Just when he was about to give up, the badass, purple haired woman opened the door.

"What'd want?" she asked, irritated. Her hair was still in firecrackers from the night before, and Richard realized he had woken her up, even though it was two in the afternoon. What could be keeping her out this late?

"Hi, I'm so sorry to bother you, but this is my friend Kori. She's from somewhere really far away, and doesn't know how to dress here. Unfortunately, being a man, I don't know the latest fashion either. Can you help us out?" Richard looked at his neighbor, trying to convey hopelessness and naiveté. He knew he could dress Kori on his own, but, again, it was better to have company.

_You got me up for that?_ thought Jinx, looking Richard. It was a ridiculous thing to ask of her, considering the two barely knew each other, but Jinx couldn't help a man in distress, especially an attractive one like her neighbor.

"Fine. You're lucky I have a soft spot for you. Um … Kori, was it?" asked Jinx.

"Yes," answered Kori.

"Meet me out here in an hour. I'll take you shopping then."

-

An hour and a half later, a freshly washed Jinx and Kori walked through Jump City's mall. Jinx had decline Richard's offer to help with the shopping, knowing that all men were useless when it involved anything other than their dicks. Well, that's not completely true. The metrosexual ones and the gay ones could at least shop, and since Richard was neither, he was excluded from this outing.

"Is Jinx really your name?" asked Kori. Jinx sighed with frustration. It had to be the millionth question the girl had asked her since they had left her house. _What's that?_ Kori would ask, and Jinx would look at a telephone booth. Or a bank. Or even a tree.

Either the girl was from very rural Africa or Asia, which was unlikely, or an alien.

It wouldn't be the first time Jinx had met one of those, though the one she knew was much more apt when it came to human life. Maybe because she was technically human, and only raised on a different planet.

"Jinx?" Kori's inquiring voice interrupted Jinx's flow of thought.

"Hum? Oh, right, sorry. No, my real name isn't Jinx," answered Jinx curtly. Kori knew enough not to pursue the point.

"Here we go," said Jinx, and pulled Kori into an underwear shop.

"First, let's get you some undergarments," said Jinx, surveying Kori. "Since I'm a B-cup, you must be a C-cup. Come on," she tugged Kori to the different aisles and bought her 5 bras and 5 pairs of underwear, at the same time teaching Kori how she could pick out clothes for herself. They then headed to many different stores, Jinx teaching Kori all along the way. When Kori was returned to Richard, she was dressed correctly, and she was supporting many shopping bags.

"Thanks Jinx. I don't know how to repay you," said Richard.

"Start by the receipts," said Jinx, and closed the door, happy to be rid of that disgustingly pretty and innocent alien.-

"Right. Mental note," Richard muttered to himself. "Hey, Kori."

"Yes?'

"I thought of something when you were gone - how do you speak English?"

"When I kissed you, the language was transmitted to me. All I need is lip contact." That explained how she couldn't understand him at first, and that kiss Richard had been wondering about.

"But… why are you so clueless, then?" Richard asked again.

"Clueless?"

"Like that. Why don't you understand certain things, like slang?"

"Because they have no translation. For example, I do not know what this device is used for," said Kori, indicating the microwave. Richard then realized that Jinx, when teaching her about clothes, had only just scraped the surface.

Over the next few weeks, Richard taught Kori about human life. Her endless curiosity and trust made her an excellent student. Soon, she had understood the basic gist about human life. The things she did not understand, like the social hierarchy that was always present in human everyday life, she just went with without asking.

So, for a while, life was very, very good.

That was, until Kori had another dream.

**Author's Note:** The song for this chapter is rather cliché, and I'm sure you all know it- Man! I Feel like a Woman, by Shania Twain. Just so you know, I am prioritizing song relevance to the chapter over my personal preference. If I put up a song that I absolutely love, I'll warn you.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

**Gives You Hell**

"_Truth be told, I miss you_

_And truth be told, I'm lying!"_

"I'm finished with you!"

"Fine! I never liked you anyway!" A door slammed. Victor Stone put his head in his hands and massaged his temples. He had just broken up, again, with his on and off again girlfriend, Karen. She was the only one who could really understand him, and he was sad to see her go. But he just couldn't _deal_ with it anymore. She was always buzzing around, earning her the nickname Bumblebee. She always wanted to control everything, she always wanted to know about everything that went on in Victor's life, and she was incurably jealous. Victor couldn't handle not being trusted that way.

A friend had set them up together because they both felt isolated in this world full of "normal" people that rejected them: Karen having her traits of a bee and Victor being fused with machine, they weren't very popular in the regular world. But that was fine, because together, they had created a new world together. But it really wasn't enough. They did love each other, but they were so alike that it was hard to stay together. They fought constantly. They broke up, only to get back together. It happens again, and again, an again. Victor just couldn't deal. And now they were done.

Again.

Ding dong ding dong. Dong ding ding dong.

-

Richard got himself ready. He wasn't sure who he was going to meet by ringing this doorbell, but after Kori's dream last night, he knew it was necessary to find Victor Stone.

He had woken up to the sound of her screaming in the guest room. She had been turning around, trashing and fighting something invisible. When Richard touched her, she woke with a start.

"We have waited too long," she had said. "We must find Victor Stone now."

Richard didn't know what the rush was, but the look on Kori's face knew that it was important enough to hurry, and that he shouldn't ask any questions. She had told him that Victor lived in Jump City, and so Richard had looked him up. There were five in Jump City. The first one had been a grandpa. The second one had died. This was the third one.

The door opened.

Richard took a step back, fighting the urge to throw up. It was a man, that was for sure, but it had been fused with machine, and the result was... unsettling. Before Richard could control his reaction, the door closed again. Richard mustered up his strength and tried again, feeling horrible.

Ding dong ding dong. Dong ding ding dong.

Richard paused, then decided to try a bit harder.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Open up! I didn't mean to react that way!"

Richard rang the doorbell numerous times in succession, sure it would annoy Victor (he was sure it was the man they were looking for now) out.

Sure enough, the door opened with such force, Richard was sure the hinges would break.

"Leave me alone, you son of a bitch!" yelled Victor Stone. He almost closed the door again, but Richard caught it.

"Are you Victor Stone?" he asked, still holding the door.

"What if I am?" asked Victor, suspiciously. He leaned against the doorframe and looked the two of them up and down.

"Please, sir, if you are Victor Stone, say so," pleaded Kori. Richard marveled at how she could seem so innocent at one moment and be so stubborn the next.

Victor looked at Kori.

"Who are you?" he asked, not unkindly.

"I am Koriand'r, but you may call me Kori," said Kori, beaming. "Now you must tell me your name!"

"_I_ am Victor Stone," said the half-man, half-machine, "And I would like to know what the hell you are doing on my doorstep!"

"May we come in? It's a really, really long story," said Richard.

When Victor looked doubtful, Kori added, "Please?"

Victor looked at her, and at Richard.

"Fine," he muttered, and opened the door. Richard and Kori entered the house. Victor led them the living room. Richard picked up a picture of Victor and a woman, a woman with dark skin and even darker eyes.

"Who's this?" asked Richard. Victor took the picture from his hands and put it back on the mantle, face down.

"No one," he said, and mentioned for him and Kori to sit down on the sofa.

"So, what are y'all doing here?" asked Victor. Richard was proud to see that Kori only frowned for a minute before clearing. Richard had taught her the basics of slang only a couple of days ago.

"We have come to ask you to join us, Victor Stone," said Kori.

"Join you? In what, a club? A club of freaks?" and even though Victor was smiling when he said it, Richard felt that comment was more a defense then anything.

"No, not a club. A team," said Richard, patient.

"A team? Honestly, I don't really see the difference. What type of team?" said Victor.

"A team that will make the world a better place, that will fight the evils of Jump City. A team of five," said Kori. Richard cringed inwardly. That description made them sound… well, somewhat crazy.

Apparently, Victor thought so too. "Right… Listen, it was nice talking to you. Why don't you leave me your number and I'll call you back?"

"Am I right in saying that you had a dream? Or a nightmare last night?" asked Kori. Richard sucked in his breath. Had Victor had the same awful dream as Kori?

"What are you saying?" Victor asked, warily.

"You had a dream, with someone named Raven in it," said Kori. There was a pause in which infinity seemed to stretch out.

"Alright, who are you?" asked Victor.

"I do not understand. I told you, I am Kori," said Kori. Richard grinned.

"And I'm Richard," he said, still grinning.

"You know what I mean," said Victor, annoyed.

"Did I not answer correctly?" asked Kori, puzzled. Victor stared at her.

"Okay, what the hell is wrong with her?" asked Victor. This got Richard mad. Who is this guy? How dare he insult people he didn't understand, how dare he insult someone as pure as Kori?

"What the hell is wrong with _you_? Can't you see? You are supposed to be with me, and my team! That's what she said! So shut up!" yelled Richard, getting up. Victor got up as well, a fist out.

"I guess I'm lucky you came," he said, advancing towards Richard. "I needed something to punch real bad!"

Kori stood up quickly, getting between the two.

"Stop fighting!" she screamed, with such a force that both men sat back down again. Richard had never seen Kori mad, and, frankly, it scared him. What also scared him was the way Kori's eyes turned a complete, glowing green when she was angry. Richard was once again reminded that Kori _wasn't_ human, and he had no idea of her power, or powers.

"You will stop this now!" continued Kori. "Teammates do not fight! So stop now!" Both men nodded, scared by her outburst. Kori sat down again, breathing heavily. Richard looked at Victor.

"Truce?" he asked, only somewhat grudgingly. He extended his arm for a handshake.

"Truce," said Victor, shaking it. Kori couldn't understand what they were doing, but she knew that they had made up. She beamed, happy once more.

"Now, we must find Raven," said Kori, and the sobered up.

"Hey, who said I agreed to join you?" asked Victor.

Richard and Kori stared at him.

"You want another one of those dreams?" asked Kori calmly. Victor blanched.

"Right. Now, onto more important things, like, does anyone actually know _who_ Raven is?" asked Richard. "Can we trust her?"

"Do we have a choice? The way I see it, she's in our dreams," said Victor. "Which means if we don't listen to her, she could probably drive us mad.

"It's not like she hasn't been in our heads before."

**Author's Note:**__ This time, the song is one I like quite a lot. It was my theme song when my boyfriend broke up with me ;) It's "Gives You Hell", by the All-American Rejects.

I also wanted to thank you all for all the story alerts. It makes me happy to think I'm liked : )

However, I would like some more reviews, just so that I can know what you like about the story and what you didn't like. I think it would help me ameliorate my writing. Thanks guys!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

Cry For You "No one's gonna cry for you"

"So, where are looking for this Raven?" asked Victor. He, Kori, and Richard were standing outside Richard's house, discussing what to do next. After meeting Victor, Richard had invited him back to his place to talk about what they should do, and to get something to eat. Victor's place was nice, but it was small and had no food.

On the way there, Victor had asked Richard confidentially, "So, you and Kori, live together, don't ya? Are you two…"

Richard had quickly answered, "No, it's not like that. We're just friends." Victor turned away, but Richard had a harder time. Victor's comment left him thinking.

"Yes, Raven said in my dreams that she would bring us to the fifth and final member of our team. But I do not know how to contact her," said Kori, dismayed.

"Do you know what she looks like?" asked Richard.

"Don't you?" asked Kori.

Richard called a vague image of a cloaked figure. He shook his head. "All I see is a cloaked figure."

"Same here," volunteered Victor.

"I do not see much else," Kori admitted, "but I know that she has strange, purple eyes."

"I know a purple eyed Raven," a voice suddenly came from behind them. All three of the teammates turned around to Jinx carrying groceries up her front stairs.

"When did you get here?" asked Richard.

"A few minutes ago. I overheard. Oh, come on, don't worry," said Jinx, referring to the team's looks of distrust. "All I know is you're looking for Raven." Somehow, Richard knew she was lying. "Your secret is safe with me. I won't give it away."

"So, you know Raven?" asked Victor. He didn't know why, but the short girl had charmed him. She was incredibly pretty, and Victor got some dangerous, but very intriguing, vibes off her. He hoped he would get to know her better, and soon.

"Yeah. Follow me," she said, and got into her car.

"Shotgun!" yelled Victor. Richard shook his head and looked at Kori.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"I think it's our only lead," answered Richard, and they got in the back of Jinx's car and drove off.

-

"So, how do you know Raven?" asked Richard, clutching his seat. Jinx was a very, very reckless driver. Victor seemed to get a high off it, but Richard was not reassured. They wouldn't form a team if they crashed into a tree and all died.

"We hang in the same places, but in different circles," answered Jinx.

"You friends?" asked Victor.

"We tolerate each other. What do you want with her, anyway?"

"Nothing important really," answered Richard quickly, before lust-smitten Victor could give everything away before it even started.

"I get it, you don't have to tell me," said Jinx, and stopped the car. "We're here." "Here" was an old, broken down warehouse. The windows were all missing, leaving gaping holes like dark eyes. It was black, and the word "Soto" was written on it.

The three strangers followed Jinx inside. A party was booming inside, despite the weird exterior. Then again, it didn't look like any party Richard had ever been to. It was full of pulsating lights, and people dancing scarily close together. Richard caught the words to the song that was playing and couldn't resist smiling. It was "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails. Looking at some of the people dancing, Richard had to admit it was a perfect song for this place.

Jinx walked to the bar, and Richard hurried to follow her, not wanting to get lost.

"Hey Lucy. D'ya know where Raven is?" Jinx asked the bartender.

"Yeah, back door," said Lucy. Jinx walked out the back door, followed closely Richard and company.

"Hurry or you might miss her!" yelled Lucy after them, cackling. It sent shivers down Richard's spine.

"Raven! Yo, Raven!" yelled Jinx. A dark, hooded figure turned around. Her dark cloak hid her face.

"What is it Jinx? You know I don't help criminals," said the figure, presumably, hopefully, Raven.

"Criminal?" asked Richard, distrustfully. Jinx shrugged.

"I take what I need. Anyway, they want to talk to you, Sunshine," said Jinx, and seemed to disappear into the darkness. Richard stared after his neighbor. How did she disappear like that? And what had Raven meant by "criminal"? Richard realized there were many things about Jinx he didn't know, and frankly, it scared him. After all, who knows if she had been spying on him all this time? Maybe she had been keeping tabs on him. Richard didn't like the thought of that.

"So, you have finally come," Raven said. Richard tried to get a better look at her face, but it was well hidden. All he could tell about Raven was that she was of medium height and she had a strange monotone voice.

"Yes. We have answered your call," said Kori.

"Follow me," with that, Raven turned on her heel and left, not looking back to see if the Titans were following.

**Author's Note **: Alright, I've given up on finding songs that correspond completely with the chapter, so here's one that's at least somewhat relevant : "Cry for You" by September. Very pop and club-ish, but I enjoy it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

**Author's Note:** I would like to thank Star of Airdrie, for their reviews at every chapter! It makes me feel better to know people actually appreciate what I write. Thanks also to my faithful friend ClosetGoth25 (you know I miss you).

Just a warning, I took a risk with this chapter. I hope you like the twist I included.

-essenceofrain out-

Drumming Song

"_As I move my feet towards your body, I can this beat, it fills my head up"_

"Where do you think we're going?" asked Richard to Kori and Victor. They both shook their heads. They had been walking for over an hour. Richard was growing more and more wary of Raven with each step he took. How did they know this wasn't a trap?

"You're completely sure it's her?" asked Richard.

"I cannot say I am… 100 percent sure, but I am 89 percent sure it's her," answered Kori.

"Even if it is her, how do we know to trust her? As we said before, the only thing that is making us follow her is a couple dreams, and the only thing _those_ proved was that she can get inside people's heads," said Victor, voicing Richard's own thoughts.

"If you people stopped wondering about where my loyalties lie, and started walking, we might get there sooner," said Raven without turning around to look at them. It was the first time she had spoken since they had started walking. The three others looked at each other with small smiles and followed Raven without saying anything else.

About fifteen minutes later, Raven stopped in front of a house. It was small, squished next to its neighboring houses. But what it lacked in width it made up in height. It was at least three floors high, maybe even more.

"Here we are," she muttered, and her hand lingered on the doorknob before opening the door.

"Honey, is that you?" asked a voice from the kitchen. Raven didn't answer, only took off her cloak and hung it up. Richard was surprised to see that under her cloak, Raven was wearing regular jeans and a T-shirt. He was amused at himself. What did he expect, a leotard?

Physically, however, Raven fulfilled his expectations. She had short and cropped purple hair and dark purple eyes. She also had a jewel on her forehead shaped like a diamond. Richard didn't like the fashion statement himself, but to each her own.

"Sweetheart?" asked the voice again. A green haired and green skinned man stuck his head out from behind a door. He was wearing a light pink apron over a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt and holding a mixing bowl full of something that looked like cake batter. He seemed very… interesting.

"Raven!" yelled the man, bounded over to Raven, and kissed her full on the lips.

Richard couldn't help gasping, and he noticed that the other two couldn't either.

"So, you two are… dating?" asked Victor, incredulous. Richard had to share his doubt. Although he had only met Raven for an hour, and the man for about five seconds, Richard could tell that they were the perfect example of opposites attract. Raven seemed… down, and the man, to be blunt, seemed very up. The only thing the couple had in common that they were both human.

On second thought, they might not even be human.

"Not only dating," beamed the man, "but married!" He held up his and Raven's hand, and Richard saw the two wedding bands gleaming in the light.

Kori clapped her hands. "Congratulations! For how long?" she asked, clearly overjoyed. Richard, however, felt like he was going to die of shock.

"Two long years," said Raven, without a hint of a smile. Richard wasn't even sure if she was joking. The man, however, took it as a joke, smiled, and kissed Raven's head. "This is my husband, Garfield."

"Your name is Garfield? Man, I'm sorry," said Victor. Richard winced at his faux pas.

"Me too!" said Garfield, and laughed. Richard relaxed. Apparently, Garfield was a lot more laid back then his wife.

After introductions were made, everyone sat in the couple's living room.

"Now, we must talk about this team we're going to be forming," said Raven.

"It's all she talks about," Garfield confided as he sat down next to Raven and put his arm around her. To Richard's surprise, instead of recoiling, Raven leaned in to be comfortable and near her husband. Maybe their relationship was a lot more solid then it seemed. It _had_ been two years, after all.

Involuntarily, Richard glanced at Kori. When she looked back at him and smiled, Richard turned away quickly for some reason he couldn't say.

"Let's start with your sources. How do you know that we're supposed to form some team? And why is it so important?" asked Victor. Richard tugged himself back to the present. This was a lot more important then some passing fling. At least, he hoped.

"I know that we are supposed to do this because I had the same dream for a month, of all five of us fighting together. It also showed what would happen if we didn't do this- a blackened Earth. It might seem extravagant," said Raven, seeing Richard's doubtful look, "but I have learned after many years not to ignore dreams like these. I cannot tell you my source, because I do not know who sent me those dreams. Maybe my unconscious, or maybe something else. But I feel that it can be trusted."

"I do too," said Kori. "I am very trusting by nature, but even this seems like a good idea."

"What have we got to lose? This city could use some cleaning up anyway," Victor said.

"I guess I'm in," said Richard, though he was still somewhat hesitant.

"I told you they'd join," said Garfield, and kissed Raven's cheek. "I'll finish making these cookies, then we can talk about how this is gonna go down."

**Author's Note:** This song is my favorite for the moment. It's "Drumming Song", by Florence + the Machine, and I listen to it (no exaggeration) at least five times a day. It's just amazing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

No Revolution "Your fists in the air but nothing has changed"

The newly formed team talked about irrelevant things while Garfield finished his cookies. When Garfield came back out with a steaming batch of cookies, everyone attacked them with furor.

"Amazing! What is this?" asked Kori, inhaling cookies at a pace that was completely inhuman.

"It's flour, sugar, vanilla, and chocolate chips. I'm glad you all like them," said Garfield, a smile wide on his face. He loved it when people liked his cooking. Better than that, everything he made was completely vegan, and that just made it automatically better.

"They are amazing, I gotta say, G," said Victor. Richard noticed he had a gift for making things that would regularly sound stupid, like using the nickname G, sound very cool.

"If we can distract ourselves from the cookies…?" asked Raven. "We have some important planning to do."

"Aw, lighten up honey! When we don't have company, you eat those cookies like no one's business," said Garfield.

"Gar," said Raven warningly.

"Right, what happens at home stays at home," said Gar, rolling his eyes comically. He sat down.

"Okay, so here's the deal. The team's name is the Titans. Once we form the team, and we start fighting, we'll have to change our names, at least in public," said Garfield.

"Why? I like being Victor Stone," complained Victor.

"Maybe so, but I've been through this before, and trust me, you don't want the public eye to look up your parents and visit them with cameras asking how proud they are of you, or showing up at your house even, bothering your kids and your wife," said Richard.

"When have you been through this before?" asked Victor. Richard took a deep sigh. His secret was about to be revealed, and if Richard was honest with himself, he was very happy that it was. It had been too long.

"I used to be known as Robin-" Richard started, but Victor interrupted him.

"Robin?! Like _Batman's_ Robin?!"

"Yes," said Richard with a strange look. Why was that such a big deal? Victor promptly started freaking out. He asked tons of questions, and Garfield joined in halfway, despite Raven's warning look.

"Now that we have clearly established that Richard is in fact Robin, can we continue?" Under Raven's icy stare, the Victor and Garfield nodded. "Now, Richard, I suggest that you keep your name as Robin." When Richard opened his mouth to protest, Raven held up her hand. "Let me finish. People know who Robin is, they know he worked for the famous, and in some circles, infamous, Batman, and so they will trust us easier. I'm sorry, I know you would prefer to leave that part of your past behind, but I really do think it's for the best."

"What about us? Do I need to change my name as well? I am not even from Earth!" exclaimed Kori.

"Even though you aren't, with all this new technology, humans could contact Tamaran and find out how important you are, and how you got here," warned Raven. Kori blushed, which made Richard wonder how she _did_ get here.

"You're important back in Tamaran?" asked Victor.

"We'll talk about that later. First, we must finish this. Then we can introduce ourselves fully, with our past and our powers included. I will be the only one of us who will keep her real name," said Raven.

"Why? Aren't you worried…" asked Kori, but Raven cut her off.

"My mother died in childbirth. I was raised on Azarath, where no one that is not wanted can go, or even find. My father…" Raven looked away. "Well, he's my problem. No one will find him anyway."

"I'm going to be called Beast Boy," said Garfield.

"Man, you really have a talent for picking the _worst_ names," said Victor.

Garfield shrugged sheepishly. "I know, but I was Beast Boy on the Doom Patrol, and I can't see myself as anything else."

"The Doom- never mind," said Richard, seeing Raven looking at him. "Later, right?"

"I suppose I could be the translation of my full name, Koriand'r," piped up Kori suddenly. "It would be Starfire."

"Perfect. Victor, you're the last one," said Garfield.

Victor's face darkened and he said, "Just call me Cyborg. It's what the bullies called me, and I'll use it against them if it's the last thing I do."

"Good. Now that that's behind us, we need to talk logistics, like where we're all going to live," said Raven.

"Hold up. Live? We're going to _live_ together?" asked Victor.

"I don't like it either,' muttered Garfield.

"I think it will be glorious!" exclaimed the always optimistic Kori.

"I don't know about this…" said Richard.

"Do you think I want to give up my privacy and live with a bunch of strangers too?" asked Raven. She sounded very angry that they hadn't thought of this. "Is your level of intelligence below the average? This isn't what I _want_, this is what we all _need_. If we don't live all together as a team, then the city won't recognize us, and we won't get any funding from them. No funding means no food, no possessions-"

"What about our jobs?" asked Richard. Raven looked at him like he was insane.

"You know, I thought all of this would have been obvious to you, being Robin. Obviously I underestimated you. You people clearly don't understand the implications of what we're doing. If we make this team, which, I remind you, we _have_ to form, sacrifices have to be made. The city will be paying us- do you think we can have jobs as well? What happens if there's an emergency in the middle of the day? You'd have to leave to help." Seeing their very wary looks, Raven took a deep breath. "Look, these teams are forming all over the world now. Look it up. The people need us. We're lucky Jump City doesn't already _have_ a team, so let's not push our luck by refusing to take ourselves seriously. We'll have to keep our jobs in the beginning, because the city might not fund us right away and obviously our houses won't sell right away-"

"Our houses?" interrupted Victor. Raven looked at him coldly.

"Is interrupting a compulsive habit for you?" Seeing that Victor was about to respond, Raven stood up and said, "Come back here in a week, when you're over your little tantrum and ready to do some constructive work. I am sick of all of you doubting me at every turn. This isn't a kid's show. It's real life."

Garfield stood up and whispered in Raven's ear, "Rae, maybe you shouldn't be so hard on them."

"You know the sacrifices I have made- the sacrifices I'll have to make- by forming this team. They have no right to whimper at the thought of losing something so material as a house."

"It's not just a house!" yelled Victor, who had been listening. "It's_ my_ house!"

"Maybe so," said Garfield quickly so that Raven, who looked ready to explode, didn't hurl something at the man. "But you don't seem to understand just how _important_ this is. We need to use our gift for good, otherwise we'll hate ourselves for the rest of our lives. Rae and I are making this team without you if needed. We have made too many mistakes not to give anything back."

There was a silence. Then Kori stood up.

"I have already given my agreement to this. I came all the way from Tamaran to join this team. I am not leaving now," said Kori, smiling.

"If Kori's still in, then so am I," said Richard. "Who knows what trouble she'll get in without me?" Kori gave a yelp of contentment and hugged Richard.

They all turned to Victor.

"I guess I already gave my word. I don't turn back on my promises," he said with conviction.

Raven looked them over. She smiled when she realized that she had, once and for all, convinced them.

**Author's Note: **I like this song a lot too. It's "No Revolution" by The Explosion. Their lyrics are really poignant and follow the lines of punk rock Green Day. Check it out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it

My Skies "All we need is a little sunshine To hide the storm that's in our minds"

Over the next few months, all of the Titans kept their day jobs. Victor kept fixing cars for rude and demanding clients, Raven kept defending her client in court, and Richard kept managing his restaurant.

Because the others had such demanding jobs, Garfield and Kori hung out a lot together. Garfield prided himself on being a stay at home husband, and he and Kori spent many days drinking tea together, discussing the differences between Tamaran and Earth. Most days, they would join Raven for lunch, or visit Victor at his job and help out (Victor was very surprised at the alien girl's strength, but then quickly used it to his advantage), or they would stop at Richard's restaurant and Garfield would suggest recipes (all declined, apart from his veggie burger suggestion). Sometimes they would even meet up with Jinx, with whom Kori had spent a lot of time with in the interval before meeting Victor.

Raven was very happy that Garfield had finally found a friend other than herself, because it meant that he wasn't spending his days at home, waiting for her to come back. She wasn't jealous by nature, and she knew that Garfield loved her more than anything. She was glad to see the team was getting along so well.

Richard, however, was feeling differently. He didn't know the strength of Raven and Garfield's marriage, and, unlike Raven, he _was_ jealous by nature. Though he was not completely sure about his feelings towards Kori, he felt somewhat cheated. After all, he had been the one to help her during those first few months. She hadn't minded staying with him whilst he worked at the restaurant then. What Richard didn't see was that Garfield and Raven had no friends apart from each other. Raven's distance and upbringing didn't make her very popular, and Garfield's skin and hair color made him distrusted by the neighbors. Kori was the first friend outside his marriage he had had in years. That, coupled with his developing friendship with Victor, made Garfield a lot happier.

One day, Raven came home from work early.

"Honey!" cried Garfield, and ran to kiss her like he always did. "You're home early! To what I owe the pleasure? Kori's gone," he said, when he caught Raven looking for her. "We have the whole house to ourselves." Garfield raised his eyebrows suggestively. Raven couldn't help laughing.

"I love it when I make you laugh," said Garfield, kissing Raven's neck.

Raven let her feelings take over for a minute, drinking Garfield in. But then she pushed Garfield gently away.

"Whaaat?" he whined.

"I found a place where all of us can stay. It's a small island with the old Motors General building on it. Since it went bankrupt, it's up for sale. With a couple renovations-" Raven suddenly stopped talking. She looked at Gar, and wasn't surprised to see his face had changed from desire to sadness. A small tear ran down his cheek. She put her arms around Garfield.

"I know you don't like this," she whispered in his ear. "I know you don't like the idea of our privacy being breached as much as I do, but we have to do this."

"I know," said Garfield, looking Raven in the eyes. "I just wish it wasn't so soon."

Raven decided she could tell the others the news later. She kissed Garfield deeply, and together, they headed upstairs.

-

"So, this is it?" asked Victor, kicking a piece of rumble.

"It seems somber now, but I'm sure it will make a fine home," said Kori, looking around.

"Aren't you a mechanic?" asked Richard to Victor. "Can't you draw plans to fix this place up?"

Victor shook his head. "Mechanics and architects are two very different things. I can vamp up the house once it's built, like install TV, a defense system, a police radio, etc… but until then, I'm pretty much useless."

"I can build this place," said Kori suddenly. Everyone stared at her in shock. Kori blushed. "On Tamaran, you must build your own home, or help others. It's supposed to be a life fulfilling experience."

"Alright!" exclaimed Garfield, punching his fist in the air. Let's get started!"

Kori looked the building up and down. " We will need very many materials."

"Which means we'll need money. A lot of it. Garfield and I have a lot saved up, but it isn't nearly enough," said Raven, sighing. "Guess we can't move in yet."

"Wait," said Richard. "I _have_ money. A lot of it."

"Where from?" asked Victor.

"When my parents died, I got an inheritance. Then, when I left Bruce, he gave me a part of his fortune." Richard looked building over. "I'm sure it's enough to fix this place up."

"Then let's get started," said Victor.

**Author's Note:** This time, it's Flamboyant Bella that stole the spotlight with "My Skies". This band isn't really known that well, (I don't think you can find them on iTunes) and I only discovered them because my friend's cousin is the bassist. I love their music, I find then so original, so don't stop at "My Skies"- get "CrazyCool" and "Love Has Got Me Stoned" as well.

Also, I got a comment wishing the chapters were longer. I wish they were too! It's just that I try to update every Monday and Friday, and for me to do that, I need to update somewhat short chapters to be able to stay on top of it all. So I'm sorry for the inconvience!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

Changes "And these children/ that you spit on/ as they try to change their world

_They're immune to your consultations they're quite aware what they're going though"_

It took them three months to make what they later christened Titan's Tower. They built the entire building from scratch, deciding that the old General Motors building was structurally incompatible with their own ideas. Victor built a training ground first off, so they would be read to start fighting once the tower was ready.

"I'll be trying to help us figure out how to work as a _team_, and not individually, as we're used to," Garfield had explained. "That's a lot harder than it seems. As you know, I worked alongside the Doom Patrol for many years, so I know how difficult it can be to cooperate during battle. I asked Richard to help me out too, since he worked alongside Batman, and thus probably has a lot of insight." Garfield smiled. "As I said, this isn't a one person team. If anyone ever feels like what I'm saying makes no sense, or is ridiculous, then don't hesitate to point it out. I tend to mess up easily," finished Garfield.

The first training session was a disaster. As Garfield had suspected, the other team members, even Robin and Raven, who had worked alongside Batman and Garfield respectively, had trouble watching out for four other members. It ended when Kori almost singed off one of Victor's eyebrows.

The second one was better, and the third even better. After a while, they got used to working together. By the time they finished, the team had improved dramatically. Even though they still made mistakes, Garfield was proud of them.

One cold February afternoon, the Tower was completed.

The finished product was amazing.

The building was huge, and in the shape of a T (that had been Gar's idea- looking at it, Richard was surprised to find it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be). Everyone, apart from Raven and Gar, who obviously shared, had their own _floor_ that fit their personality. It was insane. Victor was on the first floor, Kori on the second, Rae and Gar on the third, and Richard on the fourth. The last floor consisted of the straight vertical line part of the T, and that was where the kitchen, common room, and other necessities were. Not only that, but thanks to Victor, it had the state-of-the-art equipment needed if they were going to be an efficient team.

"It's amazing!" yelled Kori when they walked in, and flew off to her floor.

"It _is_ amazing," admitted Richard.

"Hey, Victor, ready for me to kick you ass in Mega Monkeys 4?" asked Garfield, and headed to the gaming room.

"Oh, you are going down cupcake!" yelled Victor, and quickly followed.

_Cupcake?_ thought Raven amusedly.

"Sometimes I wonder if Gar is actually twelve and just looks really old," said Raven. She had expected a laugh out of Richard, but instead found him pensive.

"Thanks," said Richard unexpectedly.

"For what?" asked Raven, somewhat surprised.

"For bringing us together," said Richard. "If nothing, we'll have made amazing friend out of this experience."

Raven looked away. "I'm for nothing. It's just the way I am." She looked up. "Besides, I should be thanking you for all the money you gave us."

"_That_ was for nothing. It's just money. The only problem is, we barely have any left. We'll be living off bread for a couple days. At least, until the city funds us."

Raven sighed. "That's going to be a lot harder than I anticipated. Apparently, we have to prove we're worthy before even _seeing_ the money."

"I guess that's logical. They can't give their money to just some random group of people that teamed up to "defend" the city."

"Hey, guys!" called Victor from the other room. "We're on TV!"

"What?" asked Kori, flying in almost immediately. Richard wondered how good her hearing was.

The three Titans moved to the other room to join Garfield and Victor.

"We stopped playing to watch some TV," said Garfield. "This is what's on."

It was footage if the five of them building the Tower.

"This is Katherine March speaking on Jump City News," said the pretty blonde on the TV. "We have just received information that what you are now watching is the building of Jump City's potential new city defense team.

"Although we _do_ know the identities of three of these members, we cannot divulge them at this time. We'll keep you posted as this story develops. Once again, this is Katherine March on Jump City News."

"Are they allowed to do that?" asked Victor.

"Apparently," said Richard grimly.

"This isn't necessarily bad," said Raven. "This could give us the publicity we need to pressure the City to fund us."

"She's right. We should give them a statement. I'll call them and get an appointment," said Richard.

"Wait a second," said Victor, "I don't know if I want to give any information to this girl."

"Why are you always the one who contradicts us?" asked Kori, genuinely curious.

"I just like to make sure I'm making the right decision before I do anything," answered Victor. "I don't like to get cheated."

"This will only be the right decision if we practice what we're going to say. There will be some things we'll need to say, and others we will have to avoid at all costs," said Raven.

"Good point. Richard, can you plan the meeting in about… a week?" Garfield looked at the other Titans. They nodded. "A week it is."

"You got it," said Richard, and headed to the phone.

He came back a few minutes later. "She gave us a meeting for a month. Apparently that was the soonest she could manage."

"Bullshit," declared Victor. "She just wants us to think we're not important to her. She probably also wants to see whether or not we can actually accomplish anything in a month. Doesn't want to end up interviewing the fuckups of the year, does she?"

"You are right," said Kori. "She would not want the bad publicity. If we do end up getting an interview with her, we must be sure, as Raven said, to say all the right things. I have learned that having a good… what's the word?… spokeswoman is wonderful for your publicity."

"Especially one with such a good reputation…" said Richard.

"I just hope we don't say anything wrong," joked Garfield nervously.

The five Titans looked at each other.

Just then, an alarm rang.

"What's that awful noise?" asked Kori, covering her ears.

"It's the police alarm!" yelled Victor. He walked over to the computers and the alarm stopped suddenly.

After a minute of consulting the computer, Victor looked up.

"Looks like we've got our first mission."

**Author's Note:** The song this time is "Changes" by David Bowie. The lyrics are absolutely amazing. It's incredible. People who write like that are actual artists, not Hollywood play toys like some others "artists" you may know (and yet, for some unknown reason, still listen to).


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it

7 Nation Army

"_I'm gonna rip it out"_

"What's happening?" asked Richard, leaning over Victor's shoulder to see the computer screen.

"Apparently, there's been a break in at the local jewelry store," said Victor. "We gotta move. He's got a gun and hostages."

"Alright guys," said Garfield as they all ran out. "This is our first real battle. Let's make it count! Raven, Kori, and I will fly ahead, as we discussed. Richard and Victor, we hope to see you soon," Gar finished, and morphed into a hawk to follow Kori and Raven into the skies.

Richard and Victor ran to the basement as fast as they could. Barely after a minute they had received the distress call, they were in what Victor called the "T-mobile". It was one of the many T-mobiles the team had, but it was Victor's first, and therefore his "baby". It was a super fast, highly equipment and protected car, ready for all the casualties their profession could bring. They had gotten temporary allowance by the police department to drive as fast as they wished (Victor had had to pass a three hour long test to accomplish _that_ one) on most roads, and so Victor sped out of the tunnel from the island to the city at an exhilarating speed.

Richard held onto his seat hard enough to rip it.

The upside of this danger was that they arrived at the scene only five minutes after the others.

The aggressor seemed to be alone. He was standing in front of a jewelry store, holding a gun to a local woman's head. In his other hands was a bag full of diamonds. Kori was talking to him, trying to reason with him. There were a couple people watching, but most of them had been smart enough to leave.

"Let me go!" he yelled. "Let me go, or this woman dies!"

Raven came up to the T-mobile. "Gar hasn't morphed back into his human form yet. He's hoping to sneak up on the aggressor as a mouse."

"Why haven't you taken the gun away from the aggressor?" asked Victor.

"It's a part of his arm, and I can't control living flesh," said Raven.

"What? It's a part of his _arm_?" asked Richard, and looked closer at the man. Now that Raven mentioned it, there did seem to be no hand holding the gun.

"You're surprised?" asked Victor. Looking at him, Richard realized it was pretty stupid to be surprised at this point.

"So what's the plan?" asked Richard.

Raven glanced back at the aggressor. They were hidden from him by a large pillar, and so he hadn't noticed the arrival of the other two Titans.

"As I said, Gar should be behind him by now. At some point, I'll give him a sign. Then, I'll conjure up a force field in between the woman and the gun. Kori will shoot starbolts at him at the same time that Gar jumps him. It would be great if you two could be on the lookout for any people that could be working with him. It seems unlikely that he's working alone. Stay hidden for now," said Raven. The other two nodded their heads. Raven left.

"This doesn't seem right," said Richard, looking around. Like Raven, he didn't think the guy was working alone. "It's too easy."

"It always is," said Victor. "Why don't you try to get on Raven and Kori's other side? I would do it, but I'm much more conspicuous."

"Good idea," said Richard, and walked out from behind the pillar. The aggressor's eyes flickered to him, but Richard's regular garb made his eyes flick back to Raven and Kori. Richard, looking scared, walked to the other side of the square as fast as he could, trying to look like a terrified guy trying to keep his cool. The made it, and then hid behind a building and watched the scene develop in front of him.

"We're warning you, let her go now!" said Raven.

"I don't think you're in a position to be warning _me_!" yelled the aggressor. "_I've_ got the hostage."

"Alright then," said Raven, she turned to Kori, as if she was talking to her. Suddenly, she yelled "Now!"

The aggressor shot his gun, but a huge black wall had suddenly appeared between the two, and the bullet was stopped. Star shot a starbolt at the man just as Gar morphed into a human to hit him over the head. The aggressor fell to the ground, out cold.

Kori let out a yell of delight. "We did it!"

Richard didn't move. Too easy. He knew enough from his years as Batman's sidekick that things rarely went off without a stitch.

Then, he saw it.

"Gar!" he yelled. "Watch out!" But it was too late. The hostage had already aimed her own gun at him and shot.

Gar fell to the floor in slow motion. Raven felt her arm stop.

Yelling in outrage, she lifted up a large truck with her powers and threw it towards the woman. She had no time to move. The truck hit her, and pinned her between the wall and the truck.

"That's what you get, you bitch!" yelled Raven, furious. Richard suddenly felt scared. He had never seen Raven lose control like that before.

Kori walked up to Raven cautiously. She put her hand on Raven's shoulder without seeing anything. This seemed to bring Raven back to reality. She suddenly calmed down and went back to normal.

"Sorry," she said. "That was uncalled for." She ran to help Gar, who had luckily only been shot in the arm.

Victor headed to help the unconscious "hostage" and hand her over to the police that had finally showed up. She was breathing. Victor gave a grim sigh of relief. If Raven had had killed the woman, the consequences would have been awful.

Richard walked over to Gar. Raven was already working on his arm.

"You shouldn't heal me," muttered Gar grimly. "You know how much energy it takes. Save it for something more serious." Raven didn't say anything, just kept healing.

"Kori, can you fly around the premises to see if there is anything else going on? We don't need anymore surprises," said Richard. Kori nodded and flew off. Richard knelt down next to Raven.

"You know you shouldn't let your emotions get away like that. It's unprofessional, and you know what would have happened if you had killed that woman."

"I know," said Raven grimly, "it won't happen again."

**Author's Note:** This time it's 7 Nation Army, by the White Stripes, a classic. I'm sure you all know it, so no reason for me to tell you how great it is. I want to thank all my reviewers, especially Star of Airdrie, who has a comment for every chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

**In Too Deep**

"_I'm trying to keep up above in my head, instead of going under again"_

That night, the Titans sat in a circle in the common room. The day had been very eventful: after that first attack, there had been two more. All five Titans were exhausted from the stress of fighting whilst at the same time making sure all the bystanders were safe and they weren't causing too much damage to the city. They had gotten back to the Tower for about ten minutes when Richard announced a meeting. The only thing that kept Raven from groaning was the fact that it would be rude.

"Hey guys," said Richard as they entered the room. "I know you're probably all really tired, but I think we need to figure out some stuff before we relax. First off, we need to build a system that would be able to handle all the emergencies that show up. Victor has already modified the alarm so that it only rings when there's a supernatural involved or when there are lives in danger. This should avoid any confusion. Not only that, but I've come to the consensus that only two or three of us should go handle these emergencies, in case another one shows up at the same time, or in case the Tower is attacked while we're gone," said Richard. The other Titans nodded. It made sense.

"For this reason, I've made these communicators," said Victor, holding up a circular piece of machinery. "If yours ever gets broken, there are tons more down in the work room. These will be used in case one emergency is too hard for only two Titans. We can get in contact easily. I've also talked to the police. They said we could easily access their frequencies with our communicators, in case something is _really _bad."

"Good idea," said Richard. "This should help us be more efficient.

"But don't worry. This meeting isn't only a tactical one. This first mission went very well. We got all the baddies, and no civilian was hurt. The police chief told me it was a job well done," said Richard.

"That's amazing!" yelled Kori. "They are learning to like us!"

"The city will _have_ to fund us now," said Gar.

"I think we might need a few more successes before that," said Raven.

"Well, we're on the right track," said Richard. "Now, let's all spend a much-deserved and relaxing night."

However, the night turned out to be far from relaxing. The alarm rang three times during the night, and each time it required two titans to go out and fight. The Titans each got about five hours of broken sleep.

Needless to say, the next morning was not looking positive.

"God, Richard, wasn't your system supposed to _help_ us?" groaned Gar as he took out the juice.

"I guess it still has a few kinks," answered Richard.

"Maybe we should make it less sensitive," yawned Kori.

"Already on it," said Victor, entering the room. "I just modified the alarm system so that it won't ring every time there's an old lady that got her bag stolen by a gun-wielding fiend. It'll only ring when the police calls for us, or if something _really_ bad happens. Hopefully that will stop it from ringing every damn minute."

The door bell rang.

"God _damn_!" cursed Richard. "Who the fuck could that be?"

"Maybe I'll go answer," said Kori. She had already learned that when Richard swears, it meant that his temper was getting out of control.

"I'll go with you," said Raven, clutching a cup of tea.

"Thanks, hon," said Gar, and kissed her. Raven smiled wanly and left. It was the most she could do, considering that every time the alarm rang last night Gar had told her he would take care of it and she should sleep. At the third alarm, she had to almost physically keep Gar in bed as she left. As it was, he was still awake when she got back. "You're okay, right?" he had asked nervously. "You know I can't handle it if anything happens to you."

Raven knew. And even though she felt the same way about Gar, sometimes his frankness could be overwhelming. She would have to make sure he understood she wouldn't break if she got less than nine hours of sleep per night.

Kori and Raven approached the door in awkward silence. Though Raven knew Gar and Kori were very good friends, Raven herself couldn't seem to like the happy alien. She was just too… friendly. Experience had taught Raven that constantly friendly people, like Kori, normally held darker mysteries in the caverns of their personality. And she got the feeling that Kori didn't really like her.

This wasn't' far from the truth. Kori didn't understand people like Raven, who were constantly serious and quiet. Raven made Kori feel very uncomfortable, and Kori didn't understand how Gar could live with her. She was… polite. That was all.

Raven and Kori approached the door with each other on their minds. When they opened the door, however, those thoughts were pushed to the back of their minds.

They opened the door to a crowd of screaming people.

"It's Starfire and Raven!" someone yelled, and about a million flashes went off.

"What the fuck-" started Raven, but she was soon drowned out.

With a non-human effort, Kori was able to close the door again.

"Well," she said. "I wasn't expecting that."

**Author's Note**: Hey guys. I know I said I would update every Monday and Friday, but that's proving a lot harder then it should lately. I have about a MILLION things to do, and so, unfortunately, I can only promise you an update every week. If I can update more, I will of course, but I think it will be rare.

Anyway, the song chosen for today was "In Too Deep", by Sum 41. Popular a couple of years ago, so you might already know it. Anyway, hope you enjoy it!

Oops, I just realized I hadn't updated the 9nth chapter like I thought! Well, lucky reader, you get two chapters at once! Hope you like them!

opefully that will


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

We are Golden "We are not what you think we are

_We are golden!"_

"What's going on?" asked Victor. He knew something was up the minute that Raven and Kori had walked into the room, flustered. Kori had looked scared, but Raven had looked more angry than anything else.

"Who the hell let those people get through?" she asked now, violet eyes blazing.

"What people?" asked Richard.

"The people that are currently pushing against our door to get into the tower," said Raven. "Didn't we agree to put up a security system to stop anyone from taking our tunnel in?"

"Well, yes, but I haven't had time-" stuttered Victor.

"I don't care!" yelled Raven. Gar walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. Raven took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm sorry," she said calmly. "I just don't like having our privacy breached like this."

"Neither do I," said Richard. "But there's no need for this kind of behavior. It's not Victor's fault that these people got in- I asked him to put other things in priority. I underestimated the amount of people that would want to join." He ran a hand through his black hair.

Kori looked at Richard in pity. It wasn't easy being the leader of such a team. "It's no one's fault," she said. "Now, let's get these people off our lawn."

-

A full two hours later, the people were all gone. Many of them had been supernaturals, and had tried to join the team by showing off their abilities. Richard had denied all these offers, and told them all to form their own teams if they really felt the need to help others. To say some of them hadn't taken this well was a gross understatement. The Titans had to spend a lot of time fighting these supernaturals without hurting them.

Once they were all gone, Victor had immediately set up a system to stop anyone but the Titans from penetrating, and Raven had put up a spell around the Tower to stop anyone from using the sea or the air from getting in. That way they should be safe from any other intruders.

The phone rang. All five Titans groaned.

"At least we know that anyone who's got _this_ number is important," said Gar, and answered the phone. "Hello?" His face changed when he heard the name of the caller. After a moment, he put the phone down, covered it with his hand, and said: "It's that reporter, Katherine March. She wants to move our appointment to tomorrow."

"That's great!" exclaimed Kori. "This means she thinks we're good enough to interview."

"Tell her we'll move it to next week," said Richard.

"What?" asked Kori, disappointed.

"We don't want to seem desperate," said Richard, answering her downcast look. "Besides, we still have to figure out how much we want to tell the press."

"Would it be possible to move it to next week, say Wednesday?" asked Gar. He listened for a moment then nodded. "Yes, four would work. Thanks." He hung up the phone and stretched. "Well, that's done."

"So, who wants to go?" asked Richard. The Titans stared at him incomprehensibly. "We can't all go. Someone has to man the Tower and the city."

"I don't think it's such a good idea for only some of us to go," said Victor. "We really need to affirm ourselves to the public, so that they can see a personality behind the superhero."

"I agree with that," said Gar. "Maybe we should all go, and if something comes up, two of us will excuse ourselves and leave. That way we give the impression of wanting to reach out to the public."

"That seems very logical," agreed Kori.

Richard nodded. "Good idea. Alright, we'll do that. Now, about the interview…"

-

Katherine March looked up at the Tower, excited to be here. Finally! She was going to see the inside of the new hot team of the moment: the Titans. She would get the first scoop on this, and if she wrote it right, she could land that promotion she had been itching to get.

_That stupid bitch Heather won't get it!_ Katherine thought gleefully. The idea of besting her rival always made her feel like a cat that had got its cream.

The big doors opened slowly, and she was greeted by a smiling team of five. She knew who some of them were, having been in the database, but others she was clueless about. She surveyed the five.

The one on the left was Raven Roth, and she was holding her husband's hand, Garfield Logan. Next to them were the two that Katherine didn't know, the redhead and the tall one with the black hair. On the far end of the line was Victor Stone. Even though, for obvious reasons, she couldn't give their names out to the world, Katherine still felt she had an edge knowing three of them, and if she could find out the other one's names, all the better.

That, however, didn't seem to be in the cards.

"Hello," said the black haired on, smiling. "I'm Robin. This is Starfire, that's Beast Boy and Raven and on my other side is Cyborg. Welcome to the Titans Tower."

Katherine couldn't help letting a predatory smile slip through.

This was going to be the story of the century.

**Author's Note: **I'm so sorry that it's been so long since my last update! I've finally finished all my applications, and over the vacation, I've had the chance to write a lot more, so expect a lot of chapters to show up!(Plus I aced my SATs so I decided I deserve a little break : ) ).

This week's song is "We are Golden". I'm sure you've all heard it on the radio, but in case you haven't, it's by one of my favorite artists, Mika. He's so incredibly attractive ;p

Anyway, typical song choice, but I am at loss for the songs so I kind just pick the first one that comes off the top of my head lol Sorry about that!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

Scar Tissue "Scar tissue I wish you saw"

"So, what's it like to be the third of these "teams" to spring up?" asked Katherine, microphone poised so as to capture every single word. She liked this team. They were funny, intelligent, and eager. Better than the regular sawdust teams she had read about. After the initial introductions, Katherine had sat down on their couch, drinking the coffee offered to her. She made sure to notice what the others drank; choice of drink can tell a lot about a person.

Robin had chosen coffee, black. Raven drank plain black tea. Cyborg had chosen coffee with a bit of sugar and milk. Beast Boy, hot chocolate. Starfire had taken something very strange: it seemed to be a mixture of tea, coffee, milk, and (but Katherine wasn't sure if she saw this right) hot sauce.

"We're the third team?" asked Kori inquisitively. Hadn't Raven said these teams were very common? She looked at Raven with a questioning look. Raven shrugged her shoulders, as if to say, _So I lied._

"It's great," said Richard, answering the initial question.

"Do you have a leader?" asked Katherine. The Titans looked at each other.

"Well, we haven't-" started Victor, but Raven interrupted him.

"Yes. It's Robin."

Richard looked at her sharply. This was news. Even though he had been acting as the leader of the team this whole time, it had never been said outright.

"Marvelous!" said Kori. Richard looked at the other team members. They all seemed to agree with Raven, Victor nodding his head and Gar looking satisfied.

"Great," said Katherine, and made a little note in her book. "So, can you tell me about your family?"

The Titans froze.

"I'm sorry, if it's a touchy subject…" said Katherine quickly, seeing their reactions. Interesting…

"It's personal is all," said Victor. "We don't want to give too much away, now do we?" The Titans tried to sum up laughs, but the end result was pretty meager.

"Of course. In any case, I'm sure they're very proud of you," said Katherine.

"I doubt that…" muttered Raven. Luckily, she was prudent enough to make sure Katherine hadn't heard her remark. Gar, however, had heard it, and grabbed her hand. Raven gave him a grateful smile.

Katherine looked at the couple and decided they were adorable.

"Where did you grow up?" she asked them now, hoping to get some personal information without touching the family issue.

Kori and Raven looked at each other. Neither of the women had grown up on Earth, and they weren't sure how the reporter would react to that news. Raven cringed, thinking of the riots that were still going on about the issue of supernaturals. If news got out that there were aliens too…

Although most people knew about the existence of aliens, some of them, like Richard, chose to ignore it because it was beyond their realm of understanding. Maybe announcing themselves as aliens would avoid the same riots. People would see that aliens are just like them.

Or it could case mass destruction.

They let the men answer. When Katherine looked at them expectantly, Raven made a decision.

"I was born on Earth, but raised by the monks on Azarath," she said. Katherine raised her eyebrow. That would explain why she couldn't find any documents on Raven from before her marriage.

"And I was born and raised on Tamaran, a neighboring country of Azarath," confessed Kori. This time, both of Katherine's eyebrows went up. _That_ sure explained a lot.

About a half an hour after (something that seemed much longer to each of the Titans), Katherine finally said, "Well, I suppose that's enough for now. If you ever need anything, he's my card." She gave the card to Richard and winked. "Even if it's not work related."

"Um, thank you," said Richard uncertainly, and escorted Katherine out.

Kori watched the woman leave with an appraising look. Had she been flirting? With Richard?

"That went really well," said Victor happily.

"Yeah, it did," said Raven thoughtfully. When Richard came back, she said, "I want you to invite her to dinner."

"What?" asked Richard, incredulous.

"We all saw how she looked at you," said Victor, nudging Richard.

"What, so you're my matchmakers now?" demanded Richard. He couldn't help one small look at Kori. She was talking to Gar about something, not paying attention. Under Richard's gaze, she laughed wholeheartedly. Richard felt his blood boil.

"Fine, I'll do it," he said, determined. He missed Kori's surprised and hurt look.

"Wait, wait," said Raven. "I didn't mean ask her romantically. I meant ask her for a professional advantage. Mixing sex and reporters is never good."

"Who said you could govern my life? I don't need your moral input," said Richard, annoyed. "If I want to sleep with the woman, than I will."

Kori got up suddenly. "I just remembered, I must go do something," she said hurriedly, and left.

Richard watched her go, annoyed. Why does this always happen to him?

"Thanks anyway," he said to Raven bitingly.

"Hey!" said Gar. "She was just trying to help you. You should be grateful."

Richard bit back a remark and left. He hated when he got like this.

**Author's Note**: Things are going along pretty well. I think this might end up being quite a long story, cause I have a lot of ideas to be put in. I hope you don't mind :)

This time it's "Scar Tissue", by another one of my favorite all-time bands, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Though they were better in their early days, they're still doing pretty well now. Anyway, this is one of their "oldies".


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

Chapter 13A couple of months before the Titans were interviewed by Katherine March

Victor stood in front of the mirror, making sure everything was in order. Today was the day. Today was the big day.

Plastering a smile on his face, he walked out the door of his house and headed over to Richard's house. Once he got there, he looked in the window to make sure Richard and Kori weren't home. Then, straitening his shirt, he walked up the front steps to Jinx's house.

He knocked on the door. Five minutes later, a disordered Jinx opened the door. Her long purple hair was put back in a messy braid, and she was still in her pajamas. Victor looked down at his watch in distain. He hadn't thought Jinx would still be in bed at three in the afternoon.

Upon seeing him, Jinx's eyes widened. She deliberately leaned against the door, one arm above her head, and leaned towards Victor.

"Hey," she said, her voice as sultry as possible, "you're the guy that was with Richard yesterday. When I showed you how to find Raven. Victor, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," said Victor nervously. He held out his hand, then mentally kicked himself. There was no point shaking hands, they already knew each other. He was about to put it back when Jinx grabbed it and gave it a good shake.

"So, to what I owe the extreme pleasure of seeing your face in the early hour of-" she checked the clock in the kitchen- "three in the afternoon?"

"Well, I was wondering if sometime, if you weren't busy, we could go out and get some drinks sometime."

Jinx smiled. "Are you asking me out on a date?" she asked.

Victor tried not to blush. He had never been good at things like this. Ever since the accident that made him to be a hybrid, he had always felt like he repulsed the opposite sex. It took a lot of confidence to ask someone as beautiful as Jinx out.

He swallowed hard and said, "Yes."

Jinx looked him up and down, then stared at his lower pelvic area. "Everything works down there?" she asked, a playful smile.

Victor looked at the girl and laughed. Jinx smiled. She had finally put the big guy at ease.

"Yes, I promise you, it does," he said.

"Well," said Jinx, reaching out and grabbing Victor by the shirt, "why don't I see for myself?" she pulled him into her house.

-

Now

Victor looked at himself in the mirror and put on his tie. He then gingerly got out of his room and closed the door. Making sure no one else was in the vicinity, he started walking down the hallway.

Although he had been seeing Jinx ever since that day she invited him in his apartment, he hadn't told the other Titans about her yet. It had been easy before they all lived together. Now, he knew his secret would have to come out soon.

_Why are you keeping it a secret, anyway?_ He asked himself.

Victor shook his head. He didn't know why. He got the vibe that both Richard and Raven, the people who knew Jinx before this team had formed, didn't like her and would try to convince him to end it.

He didn't let himself remember what Raven had told Jinx that day he had first met her- _"What is it Jinx? You know I don't help criminals."_

He couldn't believe that Jinx was a criminal. Maybe Raven had been using some form of slang.

In any case, that encounter was hidden in the back of Victor's subconscious, and now, his conscience self used Richard and Raven as an excuse not to reveal his commitment.

He got to the door, and walked out, satisfied to have made a clean escape.

"Where are you going?" Victor jumped. He turned around, ready to attack if necessary, and saw Kori. She was holding a box full of masks.

"What are _you_ doing?" Victor asked, surprised.

"Buying masks for the festival. That is customary, right?"

"Festival?" Victor racked his brains. "Oh, you mean Halloween. You know people our age-" Victor stopped, seeing Kori's face fall. "People our age usually go full out. You'll need more material than that."

Kori smiled. "Wonderful! Now, shall you join me and assemble the Titans for a fitting?"

"Can't, Star." It had become a habit to make nicknames for some of the Titans using their superhero names. Thus Kori was sometimes Star, and Gar BB. Victor himself had answered to Cy before. "I'm going out."

"Where? Why are you dressed like that?"

"Oh, I'm just walking around. I'll see you later."

Victor took the T car out, leaving a very confused Kori back at the house.

-

"Hey," said Victor as Jinx opened the door. She looked beautiful in a black cross-strapped dress that stopped just short of the knees.

"Hey!" said Jinx, and whistled. "Your parents must be very proud to have such a good looking son."

"Um, yeah," said Victor, smiling strangely and looking away.

"What? Did I say something wrong baby?" asked Jinx.

"No, no, it's not that, it's just that my parents died a while back. My mom was… murdered, and my father didn't survive long after that."

Jinx covered her mouth. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Victor."

"I just wish he had lived longer, you know," said Victor, looking at Jinx with a small smile. "Apparently I wasn't enough to keep him here."

"Oh, honey," said Jinx, and enveloped Victor in her arms. They stood like that for a moment, then Victor pulled away.

"It still hurts, but I can handle it better now than I did before. Besides, I'm not alone in the Tower. Gar, Richard, and Kori are all orphans. It's horrible actually- Gar's parents died in a boating accident, Richard's in an acrobatic display gone wrong, and Kori's home planet was destroyed. Rae's the only one of us with a parent left alive- mom died in childbirth, but her father is still out there… But I get the vibe he's real bad news," said Victor.

"God, that's awful."

"Yeah, we're not the luckiest of the bunch. But hey, we have each other, and that's enough."

"And you have me," said Jinx, standing on her tiptoes to kiss Victor.

"Yeah, I've got you," said Victor, not believing his luck.

**Author's Note**: I don't think Star's mother did die, but I added it in so that she wouldn't be the only one spared. It makes for a more global story.

I realized it's those damn songs that make me submit my chapters so far apart, so I decided to forgo them all together. I doubt anyone will be very disappointed ;)

Anyway, I'm going to Strasbourg for two days with my family next week, and since I will be away from all distraction, I'm sure I'm going to brainstorm a lot, and put most of my ideas down on paper. Get ready for more material when the vacation ends!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

Chapter 14

"Anyone seen Victor?" asked Gar, looking around the room. He hadn't seen the man since last night, and he wasn't in his room either. Gar felt the beginnings of worry start to creep up; when you were "famous" in a town, it was never good when you are missing.

"Yes, I saw him leave earlier," said Kori.

"Really? Where was he going?"

"He didn't say. He was dressed in a… a very strange way."

"What do you mean?"

"He had on what I believe to be formal wear."

"Formal wear?" asked Gar, then stopped. A devilish grin appeared on his face. "He's got a date! I can't believe he didn't tell me! I wonder with who…"

"A date? Like a romantic encounter?" asked Kori, suddenly looking wistful.

"What's wrong?" asked Gar, seeing the nostalgic look on the alien's face.

"I only wish I had such a meeting," said Kori, smiling. Gar noticed a glistening around her eyes.

Seeing that Gar was about to pursue further, Kori quickly said, "I must go," and flew off.

"What's wrong with Kori?" asked Richard, walking into the room just as she left.

"She's nostalgic. I think she misses Tamaran." _And someone on Tamaran_, thought Gar, but didn't say. He didn't want to annoy Richard any further: he obviously got touchy when it came to Kori.

Richard started to walk out to follow her.

"I wouldn't bother her!" called Gar after him. "I think she needs some alone time."

Richard's anger flared up at that. Who was Gar to tell him what to do? Who was Gar to tell him how Kori felt?

Richard caught himself, but not before Gar saw the annoyed look on his face. That look was enough to piss Gar off. He really didn't like Richard's superior attitudee reallyHe . Just because he was their declared leader didn't mean he had to get annoyed every time someone else had a suggestion.

Richard ignored Gar's look and walked out. _I have to stop being so jealous_, he thought, _or it'll end badly._

-

Gar lay down on his bed and let out an annoyed sigh. Raven looked up from her book.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I am so sick of Richard!" yelled Gar. Raven couldn't help smiling.

"What are you smiling at?" asked Gar, amused.

"You sound like a sixteen year old girl bitching about someone she doesn't like," said Raven, her smile broadening a fraction.

Gar laughed. "Maybe so, but that doesn't change the fact that he's pissing me off. Every time I say something, he gives me a look like… like I'm the bug that dared get under his shoe."

"He's just jealous," said Raven, looking back at her book. Gar flipped over and looked at Raven.

"Of what?"

Raven turned a page. "Of the relationship you have with Kori. He feels threatened."

Gar sat up and looked at Raven. "But that's ridiculous. How could he have missed the fact that I'm completely in love with you?"

"Beats me," said Raven shrugging. Gar stared at her, and then took the book out of her hands.

"You're not jealous of Kori, are you?" he asked.

"I never get jealous," said Raven seriously, and attempted to get the book back from Gar. He held it out of her reach.

"Don't give me that," said Gar, and held Raven's chin so that she looked him in the eyes.

"You do know that I'm completely head over heels for you, right?" he asked.

Raven nodded.

"From the first time I laid eyes on till the day I die?"

Raven nodded again. Satisfied, Gar let her chin go and rested his hand on her upper thigh instead.

"If you ever need reminding," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. Raven laughed and kissed him. The force of her kiss sent the two spiraling off the bed.

Lying under Raven, Gar said, "I guess the floor works too."

-

The next morning, Victor tipped toed back into the Tower. Luckily, the new alarm made it so that there were less needless calls in the middle of the night, so there had been no emergencies that last night, and he was scot-free.

He was working on an alibi for why he had been gone all night when Gar jumped out of nowhere.

"Ah!" yelled Victor. "Dude, don't _do_ that. You scared the shit out of me!"

"Alright, fess up," said Gar. "Please tell me I wasn't the only one who got laid last night."

"Okay, first off, too much information. Did not need images of you and Raven in my mind. Second, what makes you think I got laid?"

Gar gave him a "don't you try that with me" look. "You were gone all night. Think I'm stupid? Plus, Kori said you were wearing a suit yesterday before you left."

Victor was about to make up an excuse when Richard walked in.

"Where were you last night, Victor?" he asked.

"What is this, the Inquisition?" asked Victor, looking around and smiling.

"Just answer the question," said Gar, pleased. This was prime entertainment. Maybe they would have to force Victor's answer out of him.

Victor threw his hands up in the air. "Fine, I was with a woman. Happy?" asked Victor.

Gar got ready for the next phase of the game: a name.

"No, I'm not happy," said Richard. Gar and Victor looked at him, confused.

"Huh?"

"That was irresponsible of you. You should have told me where you were going to be. What if there had been an emergency?"

"I had my communicator-"

"That's not the point!" yelled Richard.

"Hey, no need for you to yell," said Gar, getting annoyed.

"I don't need your input," said Richard bitterly.

Gar tried to control his temper and failed. "Okay, what the hell is your problem?" asked Gar fiercely, just as Raven and Kori walked in.

"Friends, what is happening?" asked Kori.

"Why don't you ask Gar? You seem pretty close with him lately," said Richard.

"What do you mean?" asked Kori.

Richard paused, then said, "Nothing. I'm going to call Katherine. See if she's free next week." Richard walked out.

The silence after he left was so prominent it was almost palpable.

"Enough," said Kori suddenly, and left.

The three remaining Titans looked at each other.

"This can't be good," said Victor.

Raven ran a hand through her hair. "This is all my fault. I should never encouraged Richard to ask Katherine out. If I had known…"

"This isn't your fault. You couldn't have known, and besides, as you said, it wasn't like you meant for him to ask her out in a romantic way. He just took it the wrong way, and so did Kori." Gar sighed. "I just wish things hadn't turned out this way."

"You're not the only one," said Victor. "Come on. Want a beer?"

**Author's Note**: Hey guys. Well, I don't have much to say except that I have a complete outline of how my story's going to turn out, so things are going to go pretty smoothly from here on out.

Also, I wanted to thank all of you that have favorited me, my story, or submitted any reviews. It really makes my day to see an e-mail in my inbox telling me people enjoy what I write : ) So thank you- you're the ones who make me keep writing!


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

**Chapter 15**

"Look, all I'm saying is that a little public appearance isn't that bad for our image," said Victor.

"You're right, but why does it have do be here?" asked Raven, looking around the pizza parlor. It was full of families, screaming young children that made Raven wince. Not only that, but the Titans kept being interrupted every five minutes to be asked for an autograph. Their waiter almost passed out when he saw who his clients were.

"Lighten up honey!" exclaimed Gar, pushing Raven slightly. "Besides, we haven't had pizza in a while."

"It's not like you eat pizza anyway," said Raven, smiling.

"I do too!" says Gar, holding up his slice. "See?"

"Dude, that is not pizza," said Victor, laughing. "Pizza requires cheese. Not some soymilk stuff. You don't know where that comes from."

"Yes we do! Soy!" said Gar, taking a huge bite. The three Titans cracked up.

"Can you guys calm down, please?" asked Richard. He was sitting next to the window, looking out at the street every ten minutes.

"Come on, lighten up man! Join in the laughter!" said Victor.

"Sorry, I'm really not in the mood," said Richard, looking out the window again.

"What about you Kori?" asked Gar. "Feel like letting a smile peak through?"

Kori let out a weak smile, but then continued watching the children play with a sad look.

Gar, Victor, and Raven exchanged worried looks. Ever since the fight they had had three days ago, Richard and Kori hadn't spoken much. They both seemed extremely sad, but also too proud, or too nervous, to talk to each other about it. It had only gotten worse when Richard had told the team they would have to do without him Friday night, he had a date with Katherine March. Kori had left pretty soon after that announcement, and Raven had seen her leave her room later that evening, eyes red and puffy. The other three Titans wanted to do something, but couldn't see how to intervene without seeming too nosy and hurting their friends' feelings, and making things worse. They had decided to see how things would go on Friday, and, if it was needed, Raven would go and comfort Kori and encourage her to explore different horizons.

Just then, a young woman, holding the hand of a little girl, walked up to the Titans.

"Hey," said the woman, tucking the one blonde strand of hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear. "I'm so extremely sorry to bother you. I'm Hannah, and this is Morgan. She had been begging me for the past half an hour to come say hello, and I'm afraid she'll pitch a fit right in the middle of the parlor if I don't let her speak to you. It might be bad parenting, but I have a meeting soon, and I can't deal with a nuclear meltdown from her right now."

"No, that's fine," said Gar, who picked up Morgan and put her on his lap. "How old are you, Morgan?"

"I'm three," said the little girl, smiling delightedly.

"Wow! And you can talk so well! That's amazing!" said Gar.

"Can you sign this?" asked Morgan, holding out a piece of paper.

"Of course honey," said Gar, and signed the paper.

"Thanks so much," said Hannah, taking Morgan back. "I'm so sorry to trouble you."

"It's no trouble," said Gar, and watched the two leave the restaurant.

Gar turned to Raven. "She was really cute, wasn't she?" he asked.

Raven nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, she was."

Gar took a deep breath. "Rae, what do you think of-"

Just then, Gar was interrupted by a piercing scream coming from outside.

"Morgan!"

The five Titans ran out to see Hannah being held back by a woman in a skin-tight purple suit. She was also holding Morgan in the other hand, by the collar, over the pizza parlor's balcony. The woman's purple eyes were crinkled upwards in a smile. When she saw the Titans arrive, she gave Morgan back to Hannah.

"What the fuck was that?" yelled Hannah to the woman. She stood there a moment, deciding whether or not to pursue the matter, but then she looked at Morgan and decided it would probably be better to get her daughter home safe. She took the little girl's hand and walked away hurriedly, looking back often.

"That was very strange. Why would that person take the girl and then let her go?" asked Kori.

"Why," said a voice from below Kori, "to get your attention, of course."

Before the Titans could move, the purple figure jumped down from where she was standing and landed in front of a group of four people that were standing just below the balcony where the Titans were.

They were all dressed very strangely, as if in uniform. The purple figure was in the front, and behind the figure was a small child with a devilish grin dressed in green, a huge man who looked to be about 6'7 feet, a wiry young African-American with one eye, and a man who was completely hidden by some sort of bat costume. Every single one of them had their faces hidden some way or another.

"We," said the small boy, "are the Hive 5. Get ready to be crushed."


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

Chapter 16

"What do you mean, you're the Hive 5? Who are the Hive 5?" asked Richard.

"Glad you asked," answered the boy. "See, we're just a bunch of people who really don't appreciate you five coming in and controlling everything. You seem to think you rule everything and everyone." The boy leaned against a lamppost. "We'd like to remind you that's not the case."

"I think you've misunderstood what we're aiming to do," said Raven.

"Oh no, we haven't," said the African-American man. He laughed. "We certainly haven't."

"Before we start to, well, you know, I think introductions are in order, don't you?" said the man dressed as a bat.

"If you insist," said the boy, obviously annoyed.

"Well, it's only polite," answered the man, and walked forward. "My name- well, my pseudonym, is Night Crawler."

"You've got to be kidding," said Gar, stunned. The five Titans watched as each of the members introduced themselves with a sense of disbelief. The boy was "Gizmo", the huge towering man was "Mammoth", and the man missing an eye was "The Eye." Victor actually laughed out loud at that one.

"And this is 13," said Gizmo, motioning his head towards the purple woman. "She doesn't talk."

"Of course," said Richard. "Look, this has been nice, but I think we've wasted enough time with you. If you ever attempt to hurt someone like that again, trust me, you'll regret it. See you later." Richard started walking away.

The woman, 13, raised an arm and purple lightning bolts shot out. They hit the ground in front of Richard that cracked and opened up.

"Hey!" yelled Kori, turning back to the 5.

13 smiled.

"Guys, you really don't want to pick a fight with us," said Victor.

"Oh," said Gizmo, launching out some sort of robot missile that Victor easily deflected, "we really do."

Just then, Night Crawler disappeared.

"Wait, where did he-" said Victor, when suddenly the man appeared behind Raven and kicked her in her back.

Gar let out a ferocious cry and morphed into an elephant. He charged towards Night Crawler, but he was gone before he could get there.

"He's a teleporter," said Raven from the floor. She spit out some blood and said, "That's why he tried to take me out first, I can sense him. Listen, these guys seem like the real deal, and they seem to know all our powers- maybe our weaknesses too. We need to be careful."

"How could they know our weaknesses?" asked Gar, who was helping his wife up.

"Probably saw us on TV," answered Kori. "Watch out!" she yelled, and Richard was punched in the face by Night Crawler, who had appeared before him.

"Damn it!" yelled Richard, clutching his nose.

"Leave him to me," said Raven. "You guys take care of the other four. Remember our strategies!"

"Alright," said Richard, turning to the other four menaces, who were grinning widely and scarily. "Kor, you go for the one eyed guy. Gar, you get the little boy- try not to hurt him too bad, it'll look awful if he gets thrown in the hospital cause of his age. It would kill our image. I've got the huge guy, and Vic, you go for the purple one. Ready?" asked Richard. The Titans nodded.

"Titans, go!" yelled Richard, and each one of them went to their intended target.

As the four ran off, Raven started to clear her mind.

"Nothing else," she muttered to herself. "Nothing else."

She went into her meditation pose, and started chanting, "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos. Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos."

Raven tried to follow Night Crawler's aura, but it was very hard. He kept popping up in front of one of the Titans who was fighting and throwing them off balance, giving the advantage to the Hive 5.

Suddenly, Raven got him.

"There!" she yelled, and summoned all her power. For her, teleportation took an enormous amount of energy. She appeared right in front of the Night Crawler.

"Got you!" she said triumphantly, and grabbed him by the cape.

Night Crawler slipped out of it and punched her. Raven fell to the ground, and Night Crawler grabbed her head and slammed it on the concrete. The last thing Raven saw was his cackling face, and a cry of pain somewhere else…

Richard ran towards the huge man, trying hard not to turn around and run away.

"Brains wins over brawl," he thought to himself.

Mammoth grinned as he watched Richard approach, and squared himself for an attack.

Richard faked a jump towards the man, who, in anticipation of said jump, had leaned forward. Richard, taking advantage of this momentary unbalance, held his foot out and tripped the big man. He fell and hit the floor, blood spurting out from his nose and lip.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," said Richard, unable to stop a corny saying from coming through.

Mammoth grinned, stood up, and wiped his face.

"Maybe this will be better than it seems," he said.

Just then, Night Crawler appeared and kicked Richard in the stomach. The latter double over.

"Hey!" yelled Mammoth. "Stay out of it! This is my fight!"

He waited patiently until Richard was back on his feet.

"I'm not the type to hit a man while he's down," said Mammoth.

"Is that supposed to be some sort of moral conduct? Cause if it is, I think the kidnapping of a little girl cancels it out," said Richard, and lunged towards Mammoth. Not to be fooled twice, Mammoth anticipated his move and grabbed Richard by the collar. Not to be outdone, Richard swung over Mammoth and landed one kick on his head. Mammoth fell, and Richard took advantage of the moment by throwing an explosive at him. Mammoth gave Richard one look of disgust before he passed out.

Kori flew towards the man with the eye patch cautiously. She had no idea what his powers were, which meant he had the advantage over her.

"Come on over, baby," said the man, licking his lips. "I won't do you no harm."

"That means you will do me harm," said Kori.

The Eye laughed. "Yeah, I suppose it does. Still, you should come a little closer. You can't fight me from there."

"On the contrary," said Kori and she shot a couple of starbolts in his direction. He dodged them, but with difficulty. "I can."

"Impressive," said the man. "Guess I'll have to get out the big guns."

The man lifted his eye patch.

Kori saw nothing else.

Gar tried to weave around the small boy's attacks, but it was getting harder and harder, and Gar was getting sick of holding back on the kid.

Suddenly, a snake-like wire shot out from Gizmo's backpack, almost cutting Gar.

"Damn it!" he yelled, and rolled away. He transformed into a hummingbird and flew behind Gizmo, then changed into a jaguar. He attacked the small boy and held him to the ground. He growled.

"You sure you want to be fighting me?" said Gizmo. "I would check out your wife's progress beforehand."

Gar looked over to where Raven was, just in time to see Night Crawler hit her head against the ground.

Gizmo, taking advantage of the moment, pushed the needle into Gar's stomach. Gar transformed back into a human and screamed, clutching his side.

Gizmo laughed. "That's going to hurt in the morning," he said.

Victor looked around his new position, making sure he wasn't under anything that 13 could tip over. It had happened to him once; it wasn't going to happen again.

He opened up his sonic canon and aimed at 13. She dodged away before it could hit her, and purple sparks shot out of her arm.

Victor, having seen those sparks one too many times, ran away just as the floor beneath him gave out.

"Shit," he muttered to himself. "What's up with this chick?"

She reminded him of something he had seen before, but Victor couldn't put his finger on it. But now wasn't the time; if he kept being on the offensive like this, he would never win this.

"Victor! We need to retreat!" yelled Richard.

Victor turned to see Gar clutching his stomach and Richard trying to hold him up. Raven was down, and Kori entranced by the Eye. She turned around, raised her hand, and…

"Richard! Move!" yelled Victor. Kori shot out a starbolt, and, luckily, Richard moved he and Gar out of the way soon enough.

Victor dodged another attack and then ran away. He ran to Kori, hit her quickly over the head, and then picked her up, still dodging 1"'s attacks.

"13!" came Gizmo's voice. She stopped. "We need to go- Mammoth needs attention." 13 hesitated, looking at Victor, but then left quickly, joining her companions.

"We'll be back, Titans. Don't get too comfortable," said Gizmo. Then Nightcrawler teleported them out of there.

Victor put Star down and ran to Gar. He was barely conscious.

"He needs a doctor. Now," said Richard.

"Who does?" came a faint voice. Rae had woken up, and was getting shakily to her feet.

"Gar!" she screamed, and ran to Richard. She raised her arms, trying to heal, but only a glow showed up.

"Rae, stop, you're going to kill yourself. He needs a doctor," said Victor.

"Then get me one. Once one is here, I'll stop."

Victor touched his arm, spoke for a moment, and then looked back at Rae.

"One will be here soon," he said.

"How did this happen?" asked Rae.

"We got our asses kicked," said Richard. Raven looked at him in despair, and then fainted, too weak to keep healing.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

Chapter 17

"Which raises new questions- is this the end of the Titans? Will they be able to defeat this new threat? Can they actually protect our city? Or will they be another disappointment? More on that on our special tonight at nine o'clock-"

"Turn that crap off!" yelled Victor from across the room.

Gar picked up the remote and turned off the TV. There was a silence.

"That's the third time in a row they're mentioned us being destroyed by the Hive 5," said Kori.

"They're got nothing else to do," said Victor, reading a book in his chair. "But I can't listen to that crap again. I'll go insane."

"At least you weren't the one who got stabbed. Everyone thinks I'm a complete weakling now," said Gar, smiling faintly.

"Speaking of which, let me see your wound. It might need a bit more healing," said Raven, reaching for Gar's shirt. He took her hands away.

"No, you've healed enough today, I'm fine for now," said Gar.

"You can't be hurt if the alarm rings- you'll have to stay here," said Raven. "I don't like the thought of you, here, alone, defenseless with those insane five out there."

"You're worrying. Stop worrying," said Gar, kissing Raven on her forehead. She smiled up at him and put her head on her shoulder.

"I just don't know what I would do if something happened to you," she whispered.

Just then, the door of the main room opened and Richard came out, dressed in a suit.

"So, how do I look?" he asked.

"Absolutely dashing," said Gar jokingly. "What's the occasion?"

"I've got my date with Katherine March, remember? The girl from the journal?" answered Richard. "I might use this occasion to mend our relationship with the press."

"Look, I know you hate it when I tell you what to do, but please, don't do anything stupid," said Raven. "You're intelligent enough to know what that means."

Richard resisted rolling his eyes like a teenager. "I'll be fine."

"Yeah, we hope so. When are you leaving?" asked Victor.

Richard looked at his watch. "In about ten minutes. I have to pick Katherine up."

"Well, don't be late!" said Gar. "Hurry on out."

"So, I really do look good?" asked Richard again.

"You look perfect," said Kori, standing up abruptly. "I'll see you when you get back." She left.

There was a pregnant silence.

"I guess I'll be on my way," said Richard. He left the Tower, feeling like a complete asshole.

"Stop it," he told himself. "You did nothing wrong. You promised her nothing. None of this is your fault."

Some time after

"Well, you look great," said Katherine as she opened the door.

"So do you," said Richard. Katherine was dressed in a dark blue empire waist dress. It stopped right above the knee and looked very whimsical.

"Thanks," said Katherine. Her dress made her look like she wasn't completely there.

There was an awkward silence.

"So, I got us reservations at the Planet. I hope that's not an issue," said Richard.

"No, I love that place. Let's go."

As they left the house, Katherine took Richard's arm, but, after a moment, took it away. It wasn't comfortable.

After the date

"Well, that was… a disaster," said Katherine, back at her door.

"Yeah, I have to agree," said Richard, looking back on the evening. They had nothing in common: Katherine had different ideas, different hobbies, different everything. Richard couldn't get his mind off the look on Kori's face as she left the room.

"Thank god! At least we agree on something," said Katherine, laughing. Richard laughed along with her. Katherine made to go inside, but she paused, looking back at Richard.

"It might have been an awful date, but… do you want to come back upstairs with me?" asked Katherine. Richard couldn't help feeling some disapproval. Even their morals were different.

"I'm sorry, but no," said Richard.

Katherine nodded. "I thought as much. It's just… you're incredibly attractive."

"You're not so bad yourself."

There was a pause.

"Well, bye," said Richard, and he started walking back.

"Hey Richard!" called Katherine. Richard turned around, somewhat apprehensive.

"Whoever she, or he, is, don't let them go," said Katherine, smiling.

Richard cringed. "Am I that obvious?"

"Afraid so. Anyway, see you around. And don't worry: this awful date won't affect my judgment on the Titans in the news."

"I never worried about that. You're very professional, I'll give you that."

Katherine laughed, and in that moment, Richard considered going back up with her. But then he saw Kori's face, and he walked away and got back in his car. He had other things to do.

_Back at the Tower_

Richard entered the Tower with a sigh.

"You're back already?" asked Victor, who had been at the door. "I thought you were going to be gone all night long."

"No such luck."

"Was it bad?"

"I can honestly say it was the worst date of my entire life."

"Sorry, man. Hate awkward dates."

"Yeah, well. At least the feeling was mutual." Richard looked around. "What are you doing at the door anyway?"

"I was just on my way out. Checking up on something."

Richard smiled deviously. "Is this the chick that Gar keeps going on about? The mystery girl."

"Look, I'm going to be late. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, alright Vic, you go on!" said Richard, laughing. He turned around and saw someone standing by the door.

"Kori!" he yelled, surprised. "You scared me."

"I apologize," said Kori.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Is this the new place to hang out?"

"No, I was waiting for you."

"You were?" Richard felt his heart beat faster. Something was going to happen, the accumulation of all the fights and all the tears, of all the doubts and fears.

"Yes."

Richard walked up to her. He held out his hand. Kori took it.

They went back upstairs.

**Author's Note**: Hey guys! I don't even remember when I posted the last chapter, so it must have been a while ago. Sorry about that! I'm going to try finishing this before the start of the next year (meaning August for me, since I have to move in the dorms in August), but I can't promise anything, since I have my OIB exams at the end of the year. In any case, I'll do my best! I have a timeline and everything figured out, so that's good.

For all of you that caught the wink at the L word, you rock.

P.S. Sorry for all the deleting and re-adding this chapter- I had some issues with formatting. This final version is 17d. Apparently my little three asterisks have not been showing up, which means you guys have been having random time breaks with nothing to tell you there's been a time break. In the end, I just put the lame words you see above in italics. Sorry about that!


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Teen Titans, the TV show, the comics, or any of the paraphernalia associated with it.

Chapter 18

"So, what do you want to do next?" asked Jinx. She picked up a spoonful of yogurt and ate it. "We could go back to my place."

"You know that's always my vote," said Victor, and he leaned over and kissed Jinx.

Jinx got up. "Come on then," she said. Victor left a twenty on the table and followed her. They were walking down the street when Victor heard someone call his name. He turned around.

Karen ran up the street, waving.

"Shit," he muttered, and turned to Jinx. "That's Karen."

"Oh," said Jinx, and she looked Karen up and down. Karen reached them and stopped, breathing hard.

"Hey!" she said. "I've been trying to get in contact with you. But since you're not living at your house, and you changed your number…"

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Victor. "I should have told you."

"No, you were mad. It makes sense. I was mad too. I thought about going to the Tower a couple times, to catch up, but I kind of chickened out," said Karen with a smile.

"Are you going to introduce us?" asked Jinx to Victor.

"What? Oh, yeah- Karen this is Jinx," said Victor.

Karen looked at the two of them and her smile faltered a bit.

"Right," she said. She was looking at Jinx with a perplexed look. "Have we met before?"

"No, I don't believe so," said Jinx. She tugged Victor's arm. "Let's go."

Victor gave Karen an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, we've got somewhere to be."

"No, that's fine. I understand. Well, you have my number. I would like it if we could meet up and talk- you know, reminisce."

"You got it," said Victor. He walked away, one arm over Jinx's shoulder.

"Are you going to call her?" asked Jinx.

"Would it bother you?" replied Victor.

"Only if you're tempted," said Jinx. She looked back at Karen. "She's hot."

"I'm not tempted," said Victor. "She isn't what I need. You're what I need."

"Then call her," said Jinx, and kissed Victor. "Now let's hurry up. I want to get out of here."

Karen's Place

Karen put down her bag and sat down on her couch. It had been unsettling, running into Victor like that. Especially since he had so obviously gotten over her.

Despite their flaws, Karen had always believed that she and Victor were meant to be together. But she wasn't sure that Victor felt the same way: it was the reason she could be so jealous. Now she knew for a fact that Victor didn't feel the same way. And it hurt more than she thought it would.

Karen sighed and leaned her head on her hands.

"Stop it," she whispered. "Just stop."

But she couldn't. Not only was she hurt that Victor had found someone else, but she was hurt that that someone else was someone named _Jinx_, of all things. The girl did not seem to be Victor's type; she was covered in tattoos and piercings, and dressed like a complete slut. Not that Karen had anything against those types of girls: she had dated one or two like that in her time. But that type of girl wasn't Victor's type of girl, and Karen couldn't help the nagging feeling that something wasn't right with Jinx. She seemed familiar, and Karen had a feeling she had seen the girl in unfavorable circumstances.

"You probably think that cause you're jealous," said Karen out loud.

Was that really the only reason?

"Whatever. If he calls, then he calls. If he doesn't, then that's that."

Happy that she had reached some conclusion, Karen turned on the TV. They were doing another broadcast about the Hive 5.

The Tower

"Look, we've got to figure out a battle plan," said Richard. "This is what these meetings are for."

"And we have all the time in the world, considering how little crime there's been," said Victor.

"I think that has to do with the Hive 5," said Raven. "I think they're preparing something- something big. We've got to find them and defeat them before that."

"I think we have a pretty good chance of doing that. We've been training everyday," said Gar.

"It's not enough," said Richard. "We need new techniques."

"We have new techniques! That's all we've been doing!" said Gar. "Do you really think we'll get our asses kicked again?"

"It's not about that," said Kori. "It's about being as good as we can."

Richard smiled at her. "Exactly. That's what it's about."

"What if they've given up? We haven't fought with them, or heard of them, in over two months,' said Victor, fiddling with his phone.

"I think that's why we should be worried," said Raven. "We just need to be prepared, is all."

"What do you guys think of bringing others into the battle?" The other looked at Victor with blank faces. "Other people with powers, I mean. The city is riddled with them," said Victor, thinking of Jinx and Karen.

"I think that's a bad idea- we could be opening ourselves up to a spy,' said Richard.

"I agree," said Raven. "That's why we haven't been talking about our strategies to anyone- if they find out we're screwed."

"Yeah, no, I realize that. I just thought it would be a smart thing to do," said Victor. "No need to jump down my throat."

"We're not-" Just then, the bell rang. The Titans froze.

"Did anyone invite someone?" asked Richard. The Titans shook their heads.

"Who got past our defenses?" asked Victor. He ran over to the computer monitor. He pulled up a picture of the front door. "Anyone know this chick?" he turned it to face the room.

The monitor showed a tall, black haired woman who was standing, hands on hips, in front of the door.

"Komand'r," whispered Kori.

The Titans all turned and looked at Kori. The alien, who normally had perfectly golden skin, was extremely pale.

"What?" asked Richard. "Who is she?"

"That," said Kori, "is my sister."


End file.
